Ok so is this wacky or what http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=795&ncid=799&e=8&u=/eo/20040625/en_music_eo/14392
God help us on the LES if we get HIM in our ambulances!!
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One of the things I've always liked about NYC is how the landscape is always morphing and changing. But it's a slippery slope.
Yesterday after the parade I walked with a friend through our old haunt, the Meatpacking District. Honestly I barely recognized the place. I couldn't believe how many ultra-swank lounges and restaurants are there now. Rio Mar, one of my favorite Spanish restaurants in the city, is closed. I laid eyes for the first time on the Ganesvoort Hotel and was stunned into stupor at the sight of that fancy cafe with all the outdoor seating in the formerly near-condemned triangle building at Hudson where Jay's Hangout and the Vault used to be. When I lived on 9th Ave right above the Old Homestead Steakhouse and Nick's Diner (both of which are still there), the corner in front of that triangle building was tranny hooker & drug dealer central! Now it's all Prada girls chatting away over triple low-carb lattes.
Yesterday after the parade I walked with a friend through our old haunt, the Meatpacking District. Honestly I barely recognized the place. I couldn't believe how many ultra-swank lounges and restaurants are there now. Rio Mar, one of my favorite Spanish restaurants in the city, is closed. I laid eyes for the first time on the Ganesvoort Hotel and was stunned into stupor at the sight of that fancy cafe with all the outdoor seating in the formerly near-condemned triangle building at Hudson where Jay's Hangout and the Vault used to be. When I lived on 9th Ave right above the Old Homestead Steakhouse and Nick's Diner (both of which are still there), the corner in front of that triangle building was tranny hooker & drug dealer central! Now it's all Prada girls chatting away over triple low-carb lattes.
The Gansevoort Hotel-- pretty ugly huh? It's nice to know you can still rent by the hour at The Liberty!
CHINATOWN
I am such a Chinatown junkie! I just love that a 10 minute bike ride can bring me to what feels like another continent. I generally avoid meats like pork, but steam it up in a bun and I'll devour it. I stay away from sugary drinks but give it an exotic flavor like taro, throw in some tapioca pearls, and I'll have two!
For a real Asian experience go to East Broadway. You can find it branching off of Bowery just a bit below Canal. Under the Manhattan bridge is the East Broadway Mall, a totally Chinese shopping center. They recently added another building across the street. It's full of cute fashions for small sized ladies. Damn! Where's the Asian Lane Bryant? Anyway, if you walk through the mall (new building) and out the back it leads to an under-the bridge courtyard with an outdoor fruit market. I just love the atmosphere.
It's a great neighborhood for boy watching. So many cute crazy 80's inspired haircuts! The hair salons are cheap and very service oriented. You always get a little scalp massage with your shampoo. The produce is the best and cheapest in Manhattan. If you go now, get some fresh Lychees. They are only arund for a few months.
I am such a Chinatown junkie! I just love that a 10 minute bike ride can bring me to what feels like another continent. I generally avoid meats like pork, but steam it up in a bun and I'll devour it. I stay away from sugary drinks but give it an exotic flavor like taro, throw in some tapioca pearls, and I'll have two!
For a real Asian experience go to East Broadway. You can find it branching off of Bowery just a bit below Canal. Under the Manhattan bridge is the East Broadway Mall, a totally Chinese shopping center. They recently added another building across the street. It's full of cute fashions for small sized ladies. Damn! Where's the Asian Lane Bryant? Anyway, if you walk through the mall (new building) and out the back it leads to an under-the bridge courtyard with an outdoor fruit market. I just love the atmosphere.
It's a great neighborhood for boy watching. So many cute crazy 80's inspired haircuts! The hair salons are cheap and very service oriented. You always get a little scalp massage with your shampoo. The produce is the best and cheapest in Manhattan. If you go now, get some fresh Lychees. They are only arund for a few months.
Thanks Missy, I am always glad to hear of outdoor fruit/veg markets that I haven't tried, since supermarkets these days seem to only stock produce that can withstand an impact of 50 MPH.
Hey y'all...any advice? I want to do a photo shoot in the meatpacking district in front of a bunch of carcasses hanging on the sidewalk. I used to see them hanging out on 14th just west of Mother, on weekdays, at around 4 a.m.-ish. Does anyone know if they're still there? And if possible, could you help me narrow the window of opporunity (say, they're out there from 3 to 7 a.m., for example...) Many thanks!!
Michael, last a knew one of the few remaining houses is right on the highway so if you go to the end of 14th west turn left and its just one or two buildings down, you can't miss the loading dock. Not sure about the hours though. But who knows, since last I saw it the place could have become a tanning salon or Manolo factory outlet.
The last time I was at a party on the old block was about a month ago for Funhouse which was doing one night in the old Cooler space a few doors before the Jackie Corner. It was an island of BDSM/Industrial/Goth aficianados salting down the truly weird swankies clogging the trendy restaurants and the unmentionably squeeky clubs. Designer-wear girls started coming across the street to smoke among the Funhouse crowd, you know, for a little 'soft adventure'. I just had this huge feeling of like being in the station after the train had long since departed.
The last time I was at a party on the old block was about a month ago for Funhouse which was doing one night in the old Cooler space a few doors before the Jackie Corner. It was an island of BDSM/Industrial/Goth aficianados salting down the truly weird swankies clogging the trendy restaurants and the unmentionably squeeky clubs. Designer-wear girls started coming across the street to smoke among the Funhouse crowd, you know, for a little 'soft adventure'. I just had this huge feeling of like being in the station after the train had long since departed.
So Sad...
It looks like B&H Dairy, an East Village institution, is no more. The sign says that the space has been posessed by the landlord. I guess that means they were evicted. It was a lovely Lower East Side relic. I'll miss the split pea soup.
It looks like B&H Dairy, an East Village institution, is no more. The sign says that the space has been posessed by the landlord. I guess that means they were evicted. It was a lovely Lower East Side relic. I'll miss the split pea soup.
False Alarm! It's back!
So, that explains it. From the NY Observer. I came damn near close to being flattened by a garbage truck last week as I stopped in the middle of the street to peruse one of these:
Manhole Mystery
The end of summer has ushered in a subtle change beneath New Yorkers' hurried feet: All across Manhattan, manholes have become covered with a translucent slop that gives the rust-colored iron disks the appearance of a murky puddle. Other times, when the sun hits just right, the clear coating glints like some kind of frosted splotch of ice that has absorbed a year's worth of Manhattan grit.
The see-through coverings now spread around the city are not some toxic spill or anti-terrorism strategy; rather, they are the culmination of Con Edison's citywide program to insulate the 6,600 steam manholes dotting the intersections across Manhattan. Eight years ago, according to a Con Ed spokesperson, the power utility began insulating the city's manholes with a clear epoxy sheath to reduce the surface temperature of the scalding hot steam below. Underneath the streets, steam races through a 105-mile labyrinth of pipes at nearly 9.7 million pounds per hour to more than 1,800 buildings all over the island. While it's environmentally friendly, sizzling steam can be treacherous, as seen when a 26-year-old Brooklyn woman was recently "branded" when she fell onto a billowing Con Ed manhole on Second Avenue. An exploding electrical manhole forced the evacuation of three Times Square restaurants and one bar in March. And earlier this year, a similar tragedy struck when a woman stepped on an electrified East Village utility-box cover while walking her dog and died (luckily, steam manholes can't electrocute). Between Code Orange terror alerts and last summer's blackout, New Yorkers have had to add crosswalk calamities to the urban-risk equation.
But now it appears underfoot safety has been improved. Last week, Con Ed finished sealing up the last of the unprotected steam manholes on the Upper East Side "in an around-the-clock operation," a company statement said. The epoxy coating may keep us safe, but like any change"”from the Bloomberg smoking ban to having Republicans flood our city"”New Yorkers aren't sure what to make of their glossy-topped manholes.
"It looks a little toxic to me, or like some kind of jelly" said Alexandra Cohen, a 21-year-old artist from the Upper East Side as she warily eyed a pair of manholes in front of the Park Café on a recent afternoon. The covers had the greenish hue of mossy rock. "They look gross."
A little while later, Mort Hochstein, a wine and travel writer who lives in the Village, ambled up Park Avenue and stopped at the traffic signal. "Green slime"”that's what they look like to me."
In front of the Christ Church near East 60th Street later that afternoon, Rich Green, a real-estate broker in from Long Island, looked down at three manholes lining the intersection, equally flummoxed over their new appearance.
"They look kinda slippery to me, almost as if they're wet," he said. "I just walk around them."
Chris Olert, the Con Ed spokesman, assured The Observer that New Yorkers have nothing to fear about the manhole makeover.
"Don't be afraid of the epoxy," he said. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
"”Gabriel Sherman
Manhole Mystery
The end of summer has ushered in a subtle change beneath New Yorkers' hurried feet: All across Manhattan, manholes have become covered with a translucent slop that gives the rust-colored iron disks the appearance of a murky puddle. Other times, when the sun hits just right, the clear coating glints like some kind of frosted splotch of ice that has absorbed a year's worth of Manhattan grit.
The see-through coverings now spread around the city are not some toxic spill or anti-terrorism strategy; rather, they are the culmination of Con Edison's citywide program to insulate the 6,600 steam manholes dotting the intersections across Manhattan. Eight years ago, according to a Con Ed spokesperson, the power utility began insulating the city's manholes with a clear epoxy sheath to reduce the surface temperature of the scalding hot steam below. Underneath the streets, steam races through a 105-mile labyrinth of pipes at nearly 9.7 million pounds per hour to more than 1,800 buildings all over the island. While it's environmentally friendly, sizzling steam can be treacherous, as seen when a 26-year-old Brooklyn woman was recently "branded" when she fell onto a billowing Con Ed manhole on Second Avenue. An exploding electrical manhole forced the evacuation of three Times Square restaurants and one bar in March. And earlier this year, a similar tragedy struck when a woman stepped on an electrified East Village utility-box cover while walking her dog and died (luckily, steam manholes can't electrocute). Between Code Orange terror alerts and last summer's blackout, New Yorkers have had to add crosswalk calamities to the urban-risk equation.
But now it appears underfoot safety has been improved. Last week, Con Ed finished sealing up the last of the unprotected steam manholes on the Upper East Side "in an around-the-clock operation," a company statement said. The epoxy coating may keep us safe, but like any change"”from the Bloomberg smoking ban to having Republicans flood our city"”New Yorkers aren't sure what to make of their glossy-topped manholes.
"It looks a little toxic to me, or like some kind of jelly" said Alexandra Cohen, a 21-year-old artist from the Upper East Side as she warily eyed a pair of manholes in front of the Park Café on a recent afternoon. The covers had the greenish hue of mossy rock. "They look gross."
A little while later, Mort Hochstein, a wine and travel writer who lives in the Village, ambled up Park Avenue and stopped at the traffic signal. "Green slime"”that's what they look like to me."
In front of the Christ Church near East 60th Street later that afternoon, Rich Green, a real-estate broker in from Long Island, looked down at three manholes lining the intersection, equally flummoxed over their new appearance.
"They look kinda slippery to me, almost as if they're wet," he said. "I just walk around them."
Chris Olert, the Con Ed spokesman, assured The Observer that New Yorkers have nothing to fear about the manhole makeover.
"Don't be afraid of the epoxy," he said. "There's nothing to be afraid of."
"”Gabriel Sherman
So... the tyke and I were at the playground on 12th and Ave B...yesterday morn... there was a load of police/fire/ambulance suddenly btw 12 Band C turns out they had just discovered a dead body in a car.... This was not on the news.. i take it finding bodies in this hood is part of a daily routine...
The body they found on 13th street (around the corner from us and down the block from you) was big news. I wonder why one makes the news and another one doesn't. This woman was a Spanish street pros. too. Not an NYU co-ed or anything. Maybe the Ave. B body was black. Black bodies don't seem to rate. I mean the country is still OBSESSED with Laci Peterson. As it was for Chandra Levy and just about any other pretty young white girl. Missing Black girls usually don't seem to make new$.
I have googled this and watched the news for ages. But still no sign of this... i heard that it was a drug addict allegedly OD'd. And prob Black or Latino so.. theres a few reasons why it aint in the news... Pity it wasn't the bloated dead body of drug addict Rush Limbaugh ..
Currently, B and 13th Street is the hottest buyers' paradise for coke and weed north of the park. So that a DOA addict around the corner would not be too surprising.
Of course not o-so-long ago you could watch live bodies get converted to dead ones. One particular example I recall was when I was sitting outside at Life Cafe on 10 and B across from the park (very early 90's) on a bright sunny Sunday afternoon around 3PM when very unceremoniously this woman put two into the head of a guy as they both stood right in the intersection of 10 and B. He went down like a rock and she was gone instantly. EMS was there rather more quickly than usual and the TNT Squad ( A Dinkins invention -tactical cops with heavy weaponry, decked out for assaults ) showed up way too late to even get the trail of the woman. And even this did not make it into the media at all -but back then the daily rodeo around the nabe provided many more such incidents than the news could find exceptional.
Of course not o-so-long ago you could watch live bodies get converted to dead ones. One particular example I recall was when I was sitting outside at Life Cafe on 10 and B across from the park (very early 90's) on a bright sunny Sunday afternoon around 3PM when very unceremoniously this woman put two into the head of a guy as they both stood right in the intersection of 10 and B. He went down like a rock and she was gone instantly. EMS was there rather more quickly than usual and the TNT Squad ( A Dinkins invention -tactical cops with heavy weaponry, decked out for assaults ) showed up way too late to even get the trail of the woman. And even this did not make it into the media at all -but back then the daily rodeo around the nabe provided many more such incidents than the news could find exceptional.
Meanwhile, it seems my hood East Harlem is quickly become Upper Yorkville, darling!
For some time now Lex has observed the signs of yuppie-fication near his uptown bachelor pad. In the nearly 3 years since I left the East Village and moved up here, the last abandoned building on my block has been gutted, renovated and rented out, while two brand new buildings, both looking rather fancy, are going up within feet of my doorstep. Likewise there are many new buildings going up on surrounding blocks, and a somewhat lavish-looking doorman apartment building on First Ave & 102nd Street with a huge marble lobby. Not to mention the slow proliferation of suits, post-collegiate white grunge rockers and occasional trendy Asian girls. Nevertheless East Harlem is still rough around the edges and feels like a ghetto to me, warts and all.
But the clincher came earlier this week when I visited a new, very downtown-looking restaurant that opened up on Second Avenue btwn East 110th & 111th, right around the corner from my apartment. I'd been meaning to try it since it opened a couple of months ago and finally got to around to it. The food was excellent, so I'm glad it's there because the closest nice restaurants up here are at least 10-12 blocks away from me. Anyhoo, the owner tells me proudly and without apology how East Harlem will get the next Meatpacking District-style makeover with a Starbucks opening several blocks away and of all things a W Hotel opening at the corner of 110th St & Fifth Ave at the northeast tip of Central Park. Needless to say I gagged, trying to picture how it would all blend with the scores of housing projects around here (East Harlem has the highest concentration of them in NYC). But that's how New York has always been, they just gentrify around the housing projects. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, having said for years that Central Park North was an undiscovered gold mine that somebody would one day exploit. But still ....
I don't see the build-up of this hood as terrible per se as it was never a Red Light district like the Meat Market was. Also it's difficult at times for someone like me who barely knows how to boil water to have no nice restaurants nearby. It's all fatty fast food around here, and I don't always feel like schlepping downtown. But I don't want the rough trade scared away! And you know when Starbucks opens on the corner, the Stepford Wives marching in their Monolos are not far behind. I guess it's a mixed bag.
For some time now Lex has observed the signs of yuppie-fication near his uptown bachelor pad. In the nearly 3 years since I left the East Village and moved up here, the last abandoned building on my block has been gutted, renovated and rented out, while two brand new buildings, both looking rather fancy, are going up within feet of my doorstep. Likewise there are many new buildings going up on surrounding blocks, and a somewhat lavish-looking doorman apartment building on First Ave & 102nd Street with a huge marble lobby. Not to mention the slow proliferation of suits, post-collegiate white grunge rockers and occasional trendy Asian girls. Nevertheless East Harlem is still rough around the edges and feels like a ghetto to me, warts and all.
But the clincher came earlier this week when I visited a new, very downtown-looking restaurant that opened up on Second Avenue btwn East 110th & 111th, right around the corner from my apartment. I'd been meaning to try it since it opened a couple of months ago and finally got to around to it. The food was excellent, so I'm glad it's there because the closest nice restaurants up here are at least 10-12 blocks away from me. Anyhoo, the owner tells me proudly and without apology how East Harlem will get the next Meatpacking District-style makeover with a Starbucks opening several blocks away and of all things a W Hotel opening at the corner of 110th St & Fifth Ave at the northeast tip of Central Park. Needless to say I gagged, trying to picture how it would all blend with the scores of housing projects around here (East Harlem has the highest concentration of them in NYC). But that's how New York has always been, they just gentrify around the housing projects. I suppose I shouldn't be surprised, having said for years that Central Park North was an undiscovered gold mine that somebody would one day exploit. But still ....
I don't see the build-up of this hood as terrible per se as it was never a Red Light district like the Meat Market was. Also it's difficult at times for someone like me who barely knows how to boil water to have no nice restaurants nearby. It's all fatty fast food around here, and I don't always feel like schlepping downtown. But I don't want the rough trade scared away! And you know when Starbucks opens on the corner, the Stepford Wives marching in their Monolos are not far behind. I guess it's a mixed bag.
Another one bites it. Page 6 says:
I actually rather enjoyed Plaid on Thursdays. Once the early crowd of rabid fags dispersed, it was a pretty good bet. Anyone know what happened? Always packed. And with the $50 drinkies, they had to have been making some money.
quote:
WE HEAR.. . THAT Plaid nightclub is closing. Most staff already got fired without notice, and the rest are furious because the place was supposed to stay open until the end of the month. "Everyone is pretty sure they're getting axed unceremoniously any day now," said one worker.
I actually rather enjoyed Plaid on Thursdays. Once the early crowd of rabid fags dispersed, it was a pretty good bet. Anyone know what happened? Always packed. And with the $50 drinkies, they had to have been making some money.
A pity. I enjoyed Plaid/Spa on Thursdays too and loved how there were always new faces around, plenty of twinks to satisfy ole Lex's sweet teeth! Madge and I had some fun times there and many nice chats with Amanda.
I just got the word... reason is they have to sell the space (prime real estate sweetie) they feel real bad about lettin the team go apparently...it will soon be that the only 'cool' clubs will be out in Canarsie at these real estate prices...
I liked that party too.
The only thing like it I guess is Miss Cocoa's new "LOUNGE WHORE" on Sundays.
Looks good.
MORE PICTURES
The only thing like it I guess is Miss Cocoa's new "LOUNGE WHORE" on Sundays.
Looks good.
MORE PICTURES
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Wait! Today's New York Post reports that the 90s are back in a big way with the opening of Nerveana, which, says the owner (who also brought us Culture Club) is "like Madame Tussaud's with a cash bar." But 90s retro is so over. I think Lily of the Valley was the first to bring back grunge...was it five years ago? I think it was at the Brown Party. Definitely at Flamingo East. Was it the Brown Party? Lily performed in an extravagant mess of flannel. Gorge! But I'm not sure if I'm ready to dance next to a blue-Gap-dress-clad mannequin Monica.
quote:
RETURN OF THE 90'S
By MAUREEN CALLAHAN
LONG for the halcyon days when war with Iraq lasted less than a year, presidential scandals involved interns and the dot-com boom minted paper millionaires? Next week, you can relive those days at New York's first '90s-themed nightclub, complete with Monica cocktails, a "Basic Instinct" room and a VIP booth set inside a white Bronco - an homage to O.J.'s famous car chase.
"We're seeing so much of the '90s get regurgitated now," says owner Robert Wattman, who named his new space Nerveana, partly after grunge behemoth Nirvana (if you think Kurt Cobain's already spinning in his grave, read on), and partly because he had "the nerve" to bring the '90s back (whatever that means).
He's certainly not the first to do so. This week, VH1 is premiering "I Love the '90s, Part Deux" - a follow-up to its highly rated "I Love the '90s" specials. There are '90s nights at clubs from New York (the Cellar's "OK Cola" party) to D.C. (The Black Cat's "My So-Called '90s"), as well as best-selling '90s compilation CDs.
"The decade was all about scandals: Monica, O.J., Amy Fisher," Wattman continues. "But after things hit a 10-year anniversary, they start getting kitschy."
Robert Thompson, professor of media and popular culture at Syracuse University, says the '90s revival is premature, yet he understands the new club's appeal.
"The nostalgia cycle is already cannibalistic to the point where we're getting nostalgic for what happened this past Tuesday," he says.
"The '90s seem further away psychologically than chronologically," he adds.
"That decade's like a daydream - the fear of global destruction had gone away, and the economy was good. Even the most important stories - like the impeachment of a president - happened to be incredibly kitschy in nature."
Wattman - whose 5,000-square-foot space on Varick Street is like Madame Tussaud's with a cash bar - installed a Plexiglas-enclosed mannequin wearing a near replica of Monica's infamous blue Gap dress.
"We're having the stains installed," Wattman says casually, "and we're gonna add a couple of pounds to the mannequin."
But among the wall-size murals of Nirvana's Cobain and cardboard cut-outs of the "Beverly Hills, 90210" cast is Wattman's favorite attraction: a white Ford Bronco.
"O.J. was the biggest moment of the '90s for me," says Wattman.
Wattman - who was at a Knicks game during the now-mythic car chase - gutted the Bronco and fitted it with special seating.
It's the only space in the nightclub that requires a reservation, and is clearly a point of pride.
"When you walked in, did you recognize the Bronco?" he asks nervously. "One person didn't, and it bothered me."
Turning nostalgia into night life is something of a specialty for the Connecticut-bred Wattman and his partner, Tim Ouellette, who co-founded the '70s-themed club Polly Esther's (in a tiny space on West 26th Street) almost 20 years ago.
The '80s-themed Culture Club - where bridge-and-tunnelers dance to pop and new wave amid giant murals of Molly Ringwald and suspended DeLoreans - followed in 2000, and the two clubs have since become nationwide franchises.
"People have fun at our places," says Wattman, who nevertheless aspires to attract a sophisticated "industry crowd" at the new space.
That crowd might be difficult to cultivate, given such down-market cocktails as the John Wayne Bobbitt ("A Cut Above the Rest"), the Titanic ("It Will Take You Down") and, of course, the O.J. ("It's to Die for") - as well as his patrons' propensity for "singing in unison."
"We're gonna try and do something on Thursdays, where we're gonna be a little 'velvet rope,'" Wattman muses. "We'll see."
With little time left till the official opening on Jan. 27, Wattman has more pressing concerns: The wall-size mural of the Spice Girls - which faces Cobain's tortured visage - has to be completely redone. "I didn't like some of the likenesses," he says.
The small room devoted to hip-hop, decorated with murals of Tupac, Eazy-E, P. Diddy and the Notorious B.I.G., needs to be stocked with 40-ounce bottles of malt liquor.
"It's the only place in the club where you can drink 40s," Wattman says proudly. "We're calling this Tha Dawg Pound - yeah, that's spelled D-A-W-G, as in Snoop."
Snoop spelled it D-o-g-g, but that's a minor detail to Wattman, who is fixated on other missing pieces.
He still needs to get footage of the low-speed O.J. chase, which he wants to run on a loop. "I've got a buddy who works at a news agency," he says.
And he still needs to firm up Thursday's special guests.
"We're getting look-alikes of the Spice Girls," he says. "We're seeing if RuPaul will get in here and sing that one 'You Better Work' song. We have a drink for him." (It's the RuPaul: "You Better Drink!")
Wattman's dream opening-night VIP, however, is Kato - the houseguest and former O.J. cohort made famous by Simpson's murder trial.
"How great would that be?" asks Wattman.
While making a fetish of the O.J. Simpson trial shocks even Prof. Thompson - "I love the idea that O.J. can be perceived as innocence and fuzziness," he says sardonically - he thinks Wattman's nightclub, and '90s nostalgia in general, is serving a healthy purpose.
"People don't want to think about the war, or whether they're going to lose their jobs tomorrow. They just want an anaesthetic," he says. "The very fact that you're at a nightclub means you don't want to confront reality."